The Ninth Hero
by EmilyTheFreak
Summary: Let us venture with Arianna as she trails along with Zidane, along with a few adventures of her own. Who were her parents? Just WHAT is she? Summary changed. Please R&R!
1. Short Intro

Hey there all! And thanks for coming to see mah story! I hope you weren't _too_ insulted by mah profile! Don't worry, the following chapters, though still lacking in extreembigness, won't be...well...tiny.

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The baby wailed in vain, nobody was outside on this cold night. Unknown to her, she was never to see the woman who left her outside, nor the man who'd tried to comfort her, but in vain. They'd left and not come back. The child cried out, and cried out, and after an hour or so, tears streaming down her face, the baby fell asleep.

The next day, Marcus stumbled across a small child who appeared to be dead, lying on the ground, hardly breathing. He quickly ran her back to Tantalus, where Zidane and Blank ran over. Marcus was ten, but Zidane and Blank were only three. "BOSS!" Marcus called, "LOOKIT WHAT I FOUND!" Baku came storming over, grabbed the child and took her away.

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I'm uploading the real chapter ASAP, this is just a bit of an...explainer... 


	2. Alexandria

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Squaresoft's or Final Fantasy's rights….but I do own the game!

So, it's my first REAL chapter! Sooo, waddya think? TELL MEE!

note: If your reeaaly a tough critic, I'd just like to let ya know that some of the lines aren't perfect because I don't have a perfect memory and I'm not playing the game as I go. So ya. Have fun reading!

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**The Ninth Hero**

"We're in Alexandria!" The young girl cried happily, leaning over the edge of the Theatre Ship.

"Daddy! Daddy! We're in Alexandria!" She repeated, running over to 'Daddy'.

"Gwahahaha!" The man, you guessed it, Baku, laughed, "that we are, Ari! But, I aint your Daddy."

"I know, Dad," the girl, Arianna, grinned. "But isn't this awesome! I've always been left behind on the good trips!"

"Ye're only just old enough, an' tha's why!" Baku bellowed. Then, "Oh, I'm gonna be late for my meetin' with the boys! Gwahahaha!" He laughed, grabbing his dragon mask and heading downstairs.

"Bye!" Ari yelled after him, then ran right back to the rail. Looking down, she grinned and waved at the people gazing up at the ship. One person in particular caught her eye, a small kid, only about…ten or eleven, twelve at the most. His face was completely dark and he had glowing yellow eyes...weird. Ari laughed and waved at him, and he waved back. Looking back, she could see a Rat Kid run into him, knocking them both over. "Ouch," she muttered, leaving the rail and heading down too see how the meeting was going.

"So, what's our objective?" She heard Baku ask.

"To capture queen Brahn?" Zidane joked.

"Yep, we're gonna capture the fat, ugly, queen-HEY! That's not right!"

"To capture Princess Garnet," Zidane admitted in a slightly defeated tone.

"Yep, we're gonna capture the most babe-elicious princess in the whole Kingdom, Princess Garnet!"

Ari opened the door suddenly, running into Cinna. "Heya Cinna! Sorry 'bout that!"

"Ari, what're you doing here?" Zidane asked, laughing.

"I wanted to see what you were talking about. Hey Dad, can I help with the kidnapping? Pleeaase!"

"Ah, sure….Zidane, you get to decide what she does! But, this meeting is over! Get back to rehearsing, everybody!" Baku ordered.

"Well….what can you do?" Zidane asked thoughtfully.

"I can cook," Ari joked. "But, if you're being serious, I…" she turned slightly pink, "I've been training for the last three years, and I can fight a little, and I can do some white magic." She muttered.

"Well, that's good for a start." Zidane grinned. "You can hang out with me, seeing as you probably don't want to help Blank with the Oglops!"

"Heck no!" Ari shuddered, thinking of the gross slimy creatures. "I'm fine with going with you."

"Alrighty!" Zidane laughed.

In the Castle

_The little boat tossed and turned, whirling in the deafening wind. A small child and her mother held onto the sides desperately, gazing in horror at their home. A huge eye hovered above it, blinking down at the village. Several twisters had touched down, completely destroying everything. The girl and her mother watched in despair, still clutching onto the sides of the boat, tiny, insignificant, and tossing in the waves of the huge hurricane up above. Up one wave down another…_

Princess Garnet shook herself. It was just another dream, though it had seemed so real…she needed to put it out of her mind. She got up, trying to banish the despair from her features as she threw open her window, gazing out. The Theatre Ship that was to perform for her Sixteenth birthday was here. The one that she…but never mind. That could wait.

LATER—AT THE PREFORMANCE

"….Tantalus proudly presents, 'I Want to Be Your Canary'!" Baku bowed and left the stage just as Ari ran to the front of the audience, sitting down next to a couple kids, barely glancing at them.

Ari watched the play, barely seeing it; she's watched them rehearse too many times. Suddenly it was at the fight scene, and she ran off to the side just as Blank and Zidane jumped down where she'd been a moment ago. Glancing back, she saw Zidane's eyes fixed on Blank, not even glancing at her. Wow, I could never have that much stage presence…Ari mused as she ran into the guardroom, sitting in the corner watching the sleeping guards and waiting for Zidane and Blank to run in.

Which they did. Ari jumped to her feet, watching them promptly beat up the guards. She grinned, already in her maid's outfit. She'd gone into denial when they'd tried to put her into one of those 'Beatrix outfits' as she'd called them, the outfits that Beatrix's guards wore. So, she was stuck being Zidane's maid. Not that she cared much.

"…My outfit stinks" Zidane muttered.

"Well, my outfit-" Blank started

"We don't want to _hear_ about _your_ outfit, Blank," Ari smiled mischievously.

"Fine, then. I got the Oglops here," he added, letting one bounce about, making Ari jump back before he grabbed it again, grinning at her.

"Alright, we're even." Ari said, sticking her tongue out at him. "Happy?"

"…Yeah."

"Good."

"Hey guys, are we ready to go?" Zidane asked, looking between them.

"Yeah" they answered in unison, then stared at each other in horror.

"I'm going to pretend that never happened," Ari announced, following Zidane as he headed out the door, rolling his eyes.

Zidane walked ahead, glancing both ways before crossing the hallways and heading up the swirly twirly stairs. He ran to the top of them, taking them two steps at a time, but at the top he had to stop. Ari came up behind him and ran into him, and opened her mouth to yell at him when she saw the teen in front of him. Her mouth stayed wide open, now gaping. Wow, that was one pretty chick.

"Excuse me; I need to pass by…" The girl pleaded.

"H-have we met?" Zidane asked, eyes as wide as Ari's mouth.

"I don't believe so."

Zidane walked around her, examining her. He came back to the front, stating, "no, you're right, I'd never let someone as pretty as you get away."

"Zidane," Ari hissed, "just let her go!"

The girl nodded at Ari, then said, "I-I have to go!" Running into Zidane, Ari, and then Blank who'd apparently tripped on the stairs. Zidane jumped up and followed her, exclaiming, "Come on! That was Princess Garnet!" as he jumped over Blank. Ari ran down, jumped over Blank, and followed Zidane as quick as she could. Down the hallway, up the stairs, breathe deep, 'cause I'm gonna faint from exhaustion, and then around the tower, around and around and then…

Garnet climbed up onto the edge of the tower, smiling. Zidane ran up to her, reaching out to grab her as she fell backwards. He missed and watched in horror as she swung away safely holding onto a streamer….thing. Zidane tossed on of them to Ari, and then jumped after her. Ari held her breath, and then jumped over the edge. She followed them both to the cloth roof for the band, though some knight tried to grab her as he passed.

"That was really weird," Ari stated, watching him go. Then she returned her attention to letting go at the right time, landing with a soft "oh!" then following Zidane and Garnet down. She landed next to Zidane, and then fell over again as Garnet knocked her down. Ari, now fuming, jumped up to her feet and ran directly behind Zidane, then ran into him again, as he stopped. This time when she looked past him she saw Ruby. "Let me thru-" Zidane started, but he stopped as Ari slipped under both of their legs and ran after the retreating Princess, restraining herself from calling out some kind of war cry.

Zidane ran past her, again, and Ari leant against the wall, panting, as she viewed a scene between the two of them which ended with her coming with them.

"So what do we do now?" Ari demanded.

"We get outta here," Zidane announced, running past her and around an unnoticed room that they'd all run right past, then Cinna ran into the room that they were all standing in, making Garnet take a step back, unsure who he was.

"It's alright, Princess, he's one of us," Zidane assured her. "But, with a face like his, I'd be pretty scared, too."

"Aw, that hurts, man!" Cinna complained, "I wash up every morning, you know?"

"Cinna, we need to get outta here," Ari said nervously, looking back and forth from the door she'd just come through and him. "Someone's coming."

"Alright, everyone follow me!" Cinna ordered, going back out the way he came. And so the did. Right into the next room, this was a dead end. Ari thought she heard someone in the room behind them, clanking around, but she turned her attention back to Cinna, who was saying, "Haha, I thought something like this might happen." Then, turning to the table he said, "open!" while kicking it, and it sprung up, then, "sesame!" while stomping on the floor and the floor under the table sprung up too.

"Whoa," Ari muttered, "how did you know that was there!"

"I have my ways, little Ari, which you shall never know about!" Cinna announced."

"Pfft" Ari snorted, "yeah right." Cinna glanced at her, and then jumped into the hole.

Ari watched as Garnet jumped in, and then turned slightly pale. That tower swing had really taken all her guts. And now they expected her too-?

"C'mon, Ari!" Zidane muttered in a slightly teasing voice, grabbing her arm and jumping down. Ari took a deep breath and jumped down after him before he dislocated her arm. As she jumped, she heard the door open and she twisted to see that it was the same knight who'd tried to grab her, and behind him, Blank, who panicked slightly then winked at her, a plan forming.

She saw all that in half a second, and then she was down in the boiler room with the others.

"Someone's up there," Zidane stated, gazing up at the roof. "Cinna, can't we close that hatch?"

"It's alright, Zidane," Ari informed him, tearing her arm away from his tightening grasp. "Blank's up there with some freak in way too much armor. They'll never get down here," she finished with a grin.

"We should get out of this room," Garnet commented, staring at the hole which now seemed to be clogged by Blank all of a sudden.

"Yeah," Ari agreed, "let's go, Zidane," she called to him as she ran through the door, into the room almost directly under the stage. Suddenly Blank ran in from behind them, Ari waved at him, grinning, and then felt all their eyes go past her and she turned around with dread. There he was, the… "HEY! It's that freak who tried to snatch me outta thin air – twice!"

"Don't worry about a thing, Princess," Blank said, smiling at her.

"Excellent job! This shall be remembered as the Pluto knight's finest hour!" The rusty old freak cheered.

"Hehehe. Don't worry, Princess, we'll got you outta here."

"What! You aren't one of my knights!" Freak exclaimed.

"You can just-"

"Leave the Princess-"

"TO US!" Ari cheered in unison with the others, grabbing the dagger that Zidane tossed at her and a white mage's Rod from the side of the room, dagger in right and rod in left hand. She ran up to the freak, snatching a potion from his belt pocket. "Ha!" She cheered, running back to the others. Zidane ran up and grabbed some stuff, then Blank, then Cinna whacked him with his hammer. Garnet just watched, though she could probably do some white magic as well.

Then it was Freak's turn. "HA!" He yelled, running right up to Ari and slicing the sword through her.

"Ahh!" Ari yelled, stumbling back slightly, then stepping forward again, watching some white numbers fall away from her body. "Great," she mumbled, "he's goin' for me…" Then it was Ari's turn again, and she ran up and sliced clean through a crack in that old, stinky armor. A tiny _30 _fell from the Freak's body, causing him to glare at her. Ari waited for her turn again as the others alternately attacked and stole. Then, suddenly, the knight rushed at her and sliced through her again. "Dangit," Ari muttered, then came to her senses and cured herself. A green number fell into her skin. Ari let out a sigh of relief, that was better. Then she saw to her horror that Cinna had been KOed.

"H-hey!" she exclaimed, running over to him and desperately giving him a phoenix down. He rose to his feet, but he was obviously still weak. Ari quickly cured him, then ran over to Freak.

"HEY, FREAK! EAT THIS!" She screeched, slicing through him again. Freak glared at her, then ran over to Blank, yelled something incomprehensible, then sliced right through his armor, and suddenly there were Oglops everywhere.

Ari screamed and ran into the next room, the one directly under the stage. She was closely followed by Zidane and Garnet, then Cinna who said, "Hey, Zidane! Get on number nine!" And so he did, along with Garnet. Ari watched them go up, and then ran onto number seven with Freak close on her tail.

As they got to the stage, Ari could hear something and could easily imagine the fuss they'd be causing right about now. That made her smile, but when she got to the top and came to her senses, all she heard was, "(Just improvise, guys!)" from Baku. Everyone did the Tantalus salute, except for Garnet and Freak who just stared.

Ari stumbled over to her Dad, who was playing the evil king, bowed to him formally, and then stood by his side, watching the rest of the play go by with slightly dimmed vision. Still dressed as a maid, she could certainly pass for one. Suddenly a kid ran onto the stage, followed by a couple guards, yelling, "HEY!" and "COME BACK HERE!" Ari recognized the kid as the one she'd seen looking over the edge of the ship. Suddenly he jumped over Garnet, who appeared to have died, and Marcus was lying next to her. Strange,Ari thought. I've never seen that one before…Then, torn from her thought, she stared as the kid created a flame that flew towards the guards, but fell on Garnet instead. "Auch! That's hot!" She yelped, jumping up and throwing off her white mage's robe.

Ari could see Queen Brahn staring, and then quickly go into action. Then Freak came to his senses, he'd been rather bewildered up to this point, and started attacking them again. "OW!" Ari cried as he sliced her. Again. Suddenly Garnet ran up next to her, rod in hand. "Good," Ari muttered, stepping back from the battle to get some rest below deck. The play was dead, and reality wasn't going so good either. Suddenly, something behind her exploded. Ari turned in desperation to discover that there'd recently been a bomb there. Great. Just great. Ari ran to find Baku as the Airship flew off, but she was thrown of her feet again as some hooks shot into the ship's front.

Everything was in turmoil. Ari got up slowly, then was knocked down again as the ship ripped away from the hooks and flew over the evil forest. "Daddy!" Ari cried helplessly, running to find Baku. "Daddy! Daddy! Where are you?" She called out as the ship careened down. She screamed, watching from their burning craft as the ground loomed closer, and then…

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So, what do you think? TELL ME! Oh, on a side note, I will write Vivi's intro if…say…5 people tell me they want me to. OK? OK! BYE! 


	3. The Evil Forest

EDIT: SEE MY PROFILE!

So…sorry, I'm not going to have the crash. She blacked out.

Another sorry: I guess I owe y'all an apology…I've been finding 'time to write' difficult…sigh So here's a super-long chappy for you. At least it's long for me, or to me, or whatever.

For those who haven't played ANY of the FF games: 'gil' is their type of money. Currency, whatever.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Square Soft's stuff…sob

Claimer: ARI IS MINE! (Even though I've seen her name around, she's still mine!)

**The Evil Forest**

Arianna opened her bleary eyes, trying to recall what'd happened. The ship had crashed, but then everything went black…

"Ari…"

/_/yeah../_

"Ari…are you awake?"

Ari rolled over, groaning, to see Marcus and Blank leaning over her.

"Yeah, 'm awake…" Ari managed, suddenly realizing how thirsty she was.

"Blank, go get some water," Marcus ordered, and then called out, "Boss! She's awake!"

Baku came storming over, and Ari flinched at the cuts and burns on his face. Then she realized that she must look relatively the same.

"Hey, Dad," Ari rasped, smiling up at him. "Don't you worry, I'll be fine. You go take care of your boys." And so he did.

Then Blank came rushing back, carrying a flask of water, "drink lots of it, there's loads of fountains around here," he advised her as she gulped down the whole thing.

"Thanks, Blank," Ari said, trying to sit up a little. "Um, by the way, where's Zid-?"

Suddenly Zidane walked up, took one look around and asked, "Where's Garnet?"

Ari sat up suddenly, making her head swim. She couldn't see her anywhere, or Vivi, for that matter.

"Why did you jump off the ship!" Marcus demanded.

"I didn't jump, I was thrown off by the impact," Zidane corrected him.

"Marcus?" Ari asked, "Where are they? Garnet and …that kid?" Ari struggled to stand up. "And... where's Freak? He's gone too…"

"Ari lay back down," Blank ordered, but Ari merely glared at him, now clutching at Zidane for support. Blank shook his head, exasperated.

"Zidane, we don't know where they are. Boss is searching inside; you should search the surrounding forests." Cinna told him.

"Alright," Zidane agreed, walking off.

"H-hey!" Ari called after him, "wait for me!" Ari stumbled after him, half limping, half wishing she stayed behind, and another half desperately wanting to go...on her own steam.

Zidane glanced back, rolled his eyes, and went back to her. "Well, if you want to that much, why don't you just cure yourself?" He asked, his eyes bright.

"Um….because…I forgot I could" Ari stated, shrugging. Oo, that hurt. "But…where's my Rod?"

"HEY! ARI! YOU NEED THIS!" Cinna called, throwing a Rod after her.

"Thanks!" Ari called back, curing herself. "Um, Zidane?"

"The dagger I gave you is in your belt," he informed her, then went on again. Ari ran after him, and then they settled to a fast walk. Ari kept up easily, he had a shorter stride than Baku. Suddenly a wolf ran at them full speed, but Zidane and Ari both attacked it and destroyed it with ease.

Suddenly they rounded a corner and saw, leaving Ari speechless, a weird monster that appeared to have a cage on its head. Freak was there, sword out, ready to attack. Suddenly Ari noticed that there was someone _in_ the cage! Oh, crap! Garnet was in it!

Ari ran behind Zidane, willing her hands to stop shaking. When would it stop? Would they have to save the world? Geez, talk about a lot of pressure, but whatever…

Meanwhile, Zidane had turned a funny pink color. Ari shrieked, gaping at him.

"NO! NOT PINK!" And, as she spoke, there were flashes of light around him and he turned more of a blue-ey white…thing.

"Wh-what is that light!" Freak exclaimed, also gaping.

"I don't know, somehow it gives me more power!" Zidane replied, and he might as well have been gaping at himself had he not been fully occupied with giving the cage an evil eye. You could just read 'don't touch her, she's mine!' all over his face.

"Could it be trance!" Freak wondered.

"SURE IT MIGHT BE BUT COULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND ATTACK IT!" Ari screeched. Whatever this trance was, she felt she could go into one, just to spite him. Ari ran up to the beast and sliced through it. Suddenly Zidane called out, "free energy!" and light flew from him into the …thing, and a white _457_ fell from the beast's body. Ari whistled, she'd never seen that before. All she got were _50-60_s, and that was actually pretty good.

Ari ran up to it again, whipping her knife through it and jumping back. Zidane did Free Energy again, and then the white light, or 'Trance', left him. Freak hit it again, and it stumbled, and then climbed up the branches and away, far too quickly for anyone to chase it. The battle over, Ari ran to the place where it'd been.

"Oh, no, dangit… ZIDANE! She-"

"She isn't dead, Ari," Zidane assured her, attempting to smile. "That thing was just a minion. It'll probably take her to its master."

They all flung around too see another one, this time with that kid prisoner. "NO!" Ari cried, now positively bursting with anger. Suddenly the anger turned into energy, and her body turned white, much the same way as Zidane's had. "Nee! Pink!" She shrieked, "why did it have to be pink!" But then the same flashes appeared, and she turned the same color that Zidane had been. She let out a sigh of relief, then felt power, unimaginable power, flowing through her. Ari merely grinned, then came back to her senses. That kid was still trapped. Zidane was trying to tell her something, and she turned to him slowly.

"See if you have more abilities, Ari," he repeated, staring intensely at her. Ari nodded and went over her abilities. Maybe something—

Suddenly the kid cast a fire spell on the beast. Ari watched it for a moment, then ran to a place closer to the cage and yelled at the top of her lungs, almost instinctively, "HOLY DAGGER!"

She raised her dagger and rod together, and an amazing white light gathered around them. She pulled them apart, sending the Holy spell directly into the beast's body. It shrieked, and a blazing _348_ fell from it. Ari would have smiled if it didn't immediately afterwards suck some of the kid's health away.

Zidane ran up and stole something from it, then Steiner ran up and sliced through it, and then it was Ari's turn again. She repeated the spell, watching the monster collapse as her light exploded within it. She felt her energy leave just as it'd come, her body turning back to its normal colors.

"Ari! That was amazing!" Zidane yelled at her, patting her on the back.

"Ow, um, thanks, Zidane. Yours was better, though," Ari muttered.

Then they both turned back to the kid they'd just saved; he'd climbed out of the collapsed cage. Ari grinned and ran over to him, just as the monster spewed out some sort of green powder. Ari breathed in a mouthful, unprepared. In an instant the world started to dim, and the last thing she saw before falling down was Zidane, jumping down from a nearby tree and watching them nervously.

* * *

Ari opened her eyes, and saw Blank peering down on her. "Here, drink this," he muttered, giving her some strange potion. Ari grabbed it, staring. 

"What...what is this?" She asked Blank, frowning at it.

"It will remove that plants seeds from your body…" Blank started.

"Eeegh! I've been _seeded!_ Ewww! Gross!" Ari made a face, then drank the whole potion in one go.

"Look…Ari…I've gotta go check up on that other kid, see if he's come to yet, OK?"

"…Blank, that stuff was gross…almost grosser than being seeded…but sure. Go ahead." And so Blank left.

Ari gazed around the room, suddenly struck by how destroyed it was. This ship had been her home away from home. Away from home. Whatever.

Then the door opened again, and Ari's gaze fell too Zidane. "Hey, how come _you're_ not sick in bed?" She demanded, glaring at him.

Zidane walked over to her bed and sat down on it with a sigh. "Ari…I have to go find Garnet. I've already seen Vivi, and I promised him. I'm off to see the Boss next... He's already said that I can't, so…"

"Zidane, can I…could I come?" Ari asked.

"Ari…I'll probably have to leave Tantalus…Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"Zidane, Daddy…um…'The Boss' practically raised me. He'll take me back, don't you worry. But _I'm_ worried! What about you?"

"Ari, you can come if you want. After Boss beats me up I'm gonna ask Rusty if he wants to come, then I'll probably ask Vivi to come."

"Oh, so that kid's name is Vivi? How's he feeling?"

"He's doing fine," Zidane muttered, sighing again, letting his shoulders fall for a moment before jumping up. "I'd better go, Ari…The Boss is waiting."

"Zidane…" Ari made a move to get up.

"Ari, it's fine. I'll come get you after, OK?"

"..."

And then he left. Ari sighed, slumping back down. This was the last thing they needed, a potentially dead princess. Right after they'd kidnapped her, too. They were dead. Oh, so very dead. Ari sat up again, she couldn't stay in bed. She heaved herself to the edge, and then tumbled off, landing clumsily on her feet. She stumbled over to the door, opening it slowly. Finding that nobody was directly outside, she stepped out of the small room.

Hearing noise from the lower floor, she half ran half limped over to the stairs. Then she stood there, staring down them, as they seemed to lengthen by magic. Maybe she should have stayed in bed, but it was far too late now. Shaking her head to clear it, she started down the stairs, first taking small tentative steps then bounding down the last few. She stopped abruptly at the bottom when she saw Zidane and Baku in a dual, though not to the death.

"D-Daddy…?" she asked him, as he stumbled over to slice through Zidane lazily. Both of the thieves turned to grin at her before going back to the fight.

"Daddy, you're not going to let us go without a fight, are you…?" Ari murmured, watching.

"Nyagh! Alright, alright, you win!" Baku gasped suddenly, though he hadn't shown much weakness before. Zidane grinned at him and did a back flip, Ari watching, unimpressed.

"Zidane, when are we going? We should go…"

"Ari, don' tell me you're goin' too!" Baku demanded, glaring at her.

"Yes, I am, Daddy. I'll see you in Lindblum, OK?"

"...A'ight." Baku growled, obviously finding it difficult not to challenge her as well.

"Show-off, where'd you learn to do that?" Ari demanded of Zidane. Suddenly Baku came up behind them, gave Zidane a good whack on the back, then, 'gwahahaha'-ing, he stormed out of the room.

"Agh, he put all his punches into that last one" Zidane muttered, bending over in pain. Ari rolled her eyes, walking over, grabbing a Rod from the side and curing him. "You see, this is why I worry about you. You meet some pretty girl, and instantly you love her, and you chase her until you find someone prettier. Even if Daddy says no! I can't believe you! You're all beaten up, though, not any more, thanks to me," –

"Yeah, thanks"

"-You can walk! What do you have to say for yourself!" Ari demanded, finally finished her rant.

"But she's the prettiest one yet," Zidane complained, punching Ari in a friendly way as he passed her.

"H-hey! You get back here!" Ari cried, running back up the stairs after him, now feeling much better then before.

They first went to see Freak, or rather, 'Rusty' as Zidane referred to him, asking if he'd come. The knight rather over-enthusiastically agreed, and then informed Zidane that they should go get…

… "Master Vivi's assistance!" Freak finished.

"Master? You're calling that kid 'master' now?" Ari asked, slightly amused, as Zidane agreed and they headed off to Vivi's room.

Once inside Vivi's room, the kid rolled into a sitting position.

"Hey, Vi'! We're gonna go rescue ourselves a princess! Wanna come?" Ari asked, for some reason completely jubilant at the thought of leaving Tantalus for the first time in her memory.

"U-um, okay…" Vivi agreed, more nervous than reluctant. And so they headed off, though first…

"Sorry, but now that you aren't in Tantalus I'm gonna have to charge you," Cinna informed them, just outside the ship. Zidane shrugged, giving him some gil in exchange for some potions.

And then they were off, through the forest again, killed a few beasties, and Ari grinned when she saw how they all got stronger with every second and third battle. (I still remember that…LEVEL UP! )

Soon, though, there was no more grinning as great roots leading in the direction they were going in seemed to move of their own accord, growing bigger as they went along.

Ari shuddered and hurried to keep up, and soon they walked into a clearing.

"Well, it doesn't look like there are any monsters here," Zidane commented with slight relief, though the battles hadn't been difficult.

Ari, however, was concentrating on a small, pink ball sticking out of the hollow tree stump.

"Moogle!" She cried out suddenly, running over and peering in.

"K-kupo!" He cried, jumping out. "Oh, good, not monsters, kupo." Then he proceeded over to a small spring and starting drinking from it. Ari followed suit, and found that it was good!

"Hey, Zidane, like, come check this out! It like, like, restores my Health and Magic completely!"

"Like, like, like, like," Zidane imitated her, earning a glare and a laugh. He did, however, come over and drink some, and Vivi and Freak followed. Then they all got up at once, startling the poor Moogle back into his stump.

As they carried on, the roots and monsters reappeared. However, they'd hardly been walking for any time at all, without running into anything, when they were suddenly at the apparent source of the roots. Ari froze, letting her gaze slowly travel up the plant-thing's body.

Roots. Big roots, lots of roots. And up. Weird, roundish body. And up. WOAH, HUGE FLOWER ALERT!

Okay, so this 'thing' was some sort of 'king of the plants'? Ari let her gaze fall behind it and found what Freak had already been making a fuss about, the princess, Garnet, was lying unconscious behind the huge plant.

"Dangit," Ari muttered, drawing her dagger and rod in preparation. "Okay, weird plant thingy, bring it on!" She screeched at it, running up and digging her dagger through it in anger. A startling _76 _fell from it, numbers that would have made Freak jealous. Any that was saying something.

As they all attacked, Vivi scoring the highest by far with his Fire magic, the Plant slowly weakened. Suddenly it went on 'super-mode' or something, and soon, Vivi, Zidane, and Steiner all fell unconscious. Ari groaned, trying desperately to stay alive herself as she attempted to relieve them before the next attack.

"Looks like I got here just in time," came a voice Ari recognized.

"BLANK! Y-YOU IDIOT!" Ari screamed at him, for no other purpose than screaming, "YOU FREAKING---!"

"Ari, help!" Blank yelled back, as he took over her work of reviving the others. Ari sighed, bending down next to him again as the Plant continued to attack. Together, they soon had everyone up and running again. This time, Ari was careful to keep them that way with almost constant cures. Her magic would run out soon, she knew.

Then, quite out-of-the-blue, the Plant fell over. Boom. Kibosh. Habwoo. BANG! Ari cheered as the smoke cleared, and Steiner ran and grabbed Garnet. Then all the smoke was gone, and the Plant with it, and a whole bunch of spidery-plants climbed out of a hole that had appeared below the big one. The big one that was dead. Whatever.

They all started to run, Ari somewhere in the middle, but she soon found herself being carried by Blank as she started to fall behind. Zidane remained at the rear, occasionally beating back the bugs. Suddenly they all stopped, looking back. There were hundreds, no, thousands, oh heck, the wholefreaking FOREST was coming after them!

Blank put Ari down, staring for a millisecond before running again. "You guys! The forest is being petrified!" He called, slowing to let them all pass as they ran for their lives. Only Zidane remained behind him, Ari running ahead next to Steiner, constantly staring over her shoulder. Zidane running, Blank ahead of him, also looking back. Suddenly a plant-thing came right up behind Zidane, obviously about to grab him. Blank let out a cry of fear and rage, stopping for a second before throwing himself sideways into Zidane.

((I'm changing to Blanks point of view))

_I screamed at Zidane to keep running as I heard that horrible plant coming up behind me. I knew what would happen, even as it closed it's pinchers around me. Zidane kept running, though he was obviously horrified as I looked into his face. Suddenly I had an idea, and I grabbed the map I had out of my pocket and threw it as hard as I could. Zidane caught on immediately, and ran on ahead, leaving me behind. I cried out, watching my legs petrify before my eyes. Then my waist, stomach, arms. I closed my eyes and floated into nothingness as my very face turned to stone in the monster's arms._

((Now Zidane))

_I could feel it coming up behind me, and I knew I was doomed. I noticed Blank cry out, pausing momentarily, and I gestured for him to go on. I was nearly going to run past him when he slammed into me full-force, nearly knocking me over. I turned to him, but began running again, as fast as my legs could take me. I watched with painful clearness as the beast closed around my friend, and I nearly hesitated, nearly stopped, but I kept running. I ran faster than I'd ever run, though still looking over my shoulder. Blank was panicked only for a moment, then suddenly grabbed his map, throwing it towards me. I took one last, seemingly endless, look at Blank, memorizing every feature, every scar, even that crazy belt on his head. But then I ran on, even faster, faster, faster, and caught the map, still running. I caught up to Ari and Steiner, but didn't pass them, I wouldn't leave Ari behind, nor Garnet. The ran out of the forest just ahead of me, and I dove out as it sealed up at my heels. I turned back to the forest, now merely a wall of stone, crying out and hitting it._

((Back to Ari))

Ari watched in horror, desperation, and hopelessness as Blank was caught up by the beast, he threw the map, Zidane caught it at a run, and slowly, slowly Blank turned into a painful grey as the petrifaction flew on beyond him, and Ari turned her teary eyes onwards, as Zidane caught up. As soon as she was out of the forest she turned, tears now flowing freely.

"Blank…" She murmured, leaning against the stone as Zidane seemed to be trying to break it, "oh, Blank…" Suddenly she hugged Zidane tightly, looking for support anywhere. She had lost a friend, a coworker, a brother. And now she looked to her other brother for support, the only family she had.

"Zidane, did Daddy get out?" Ari asked, looking for any reassurance.

Zidane held her tightly, obviously trying to find words. "I…I don't know, Ari," he finally answered, truthfully.

Ari merely held him tighter, now sobbing, the others completely forgotten. "C-can we save him?" She chocked out, fighting hysterics.

"I…I don't know that either," Zidane answered again, his voice cracking up. "I just don't know anything…"

* * *

PLEASE REVIEW! I hope you enjoyed that, it's 10 pages long, just so you know. Sorry I haven't updated sooner, and sorry again that I probably won't update for a while. 

Just so you know, I'm also working on the first chapter of my fic called 'the Betrothed' …The more people who answer correctly where that line is from, the quicker the fic will appear. Promise!

Um, Emzies, sorry, but….um…not yet. I _miiiight_ use the name for a side-character---way later, though.

((I'm still waiting for people to ask for Vivi's intro—and the same person can't ask twice! So invite your friends!))

BYE!


	4. Bonding

To cure any false expectations: these couples will NOT happen

Zidane X Ari

Kuja X ANYBODY

Garland X ANYBODY

Blank X Zidane (no shounen-ai at ALL for that matter…)

If any more that comes up, I will be sure to cure you of any _more_ false expectations. THESE couples, however, are guaranteed to come with extra CUTENESS!

Blank X Ruby (whee! )

Zidane X Garnet (duh)

Eiko X Vivi (not much, buthey, they're just kids!)

Steiner X Beatrix (not my preference, but I'll go with the game….)

Once again: there will be NO SHOUNEN-AI! For those of you who don't know, Shounen-ai is Japanese for –Guy- X –Guy- love (I think) and there will NOT be any in this fanfic, nor any other of my works. -Glare-

Another thing that will absolutely NOT happen is Kuja X Garnet. That, to me, is the utter meaning of the word 'sick'.

ONE FINAL NOTE: 'Bonding' as this chapter is called, will be short. However, there will be a 'Bonding' chapter on every plain, between the Evil Forest and the Ice Caves, and then the Ice Caves and Dali, and so on.

And finally, here's the chapter!

**Bonding**

Suddenly Ari stiffened and turned away from Zidane, though tears still streamed down her face. She went over to the camp, where Vivi was just recovering from shock, (A/n: I just realized I left him outta the last chapter's ending, sorry all) Freak/Rusty was fuming, and Garnet was still unconscious. Ari sighed, wiping at her face, and sat down next to Garnet, just…watching her.

Garnet rolled over, moaning. Ari just stared as she heard yelling between Freak and Zidane going on behind her.

"Hey, Zidane, she's awake," Ari called without turning around. Garnet sat up suddenly, holding her head. Zidane turned and broke out into a grin, all tears forgotten. Ari sighed, removing the grief from her features, as well. Garnet looked between the two of them, then at Vivi, then finally at Freak.

"Steiner…what happened?" She mumbled, shaking her head to clear it. Ari made a mental note of the name, too.

"You were unconscious, and I rescued you!" Steiner declared proudly.

"Yeah, right," Zidane snorted, "it was my dagger and Vivi's magic, not to mention Ari's skill that got you outta there, Princess." He smiled at her playfully, almost like a child.

"I thank you all," Garnet mumbled. Steiner seemed to be mouthing profanities, his face turning purple.

"P-princess! You aren't actually going to believe this thief!" Steiner demanded, and Ari could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

Garnet merely nodded, and Zidane stepped in. "Well, I think we should all get some rest for the night," he declared.

"Are you mad!" Steiner nearly shouted, "We are in the mist! People go mad down here! And the monsters it spawns! Princess, we must leave at once!"

Zidane, now also getting his temper up, yelled right back, "And what do YOU suggest we do, oh mighty sir Rust-a-lot? We're in the middle of a valley, and last time I heard south gate was closed. Garnet is still weak!"

"Well…yes…but…" Steiner stammered.

"Steiner! State your sworn duty!" Zidane ordered.

"To protect the heir to the throne, Princess Garnet til Alexandros!" Steiner declared, saluting, and then his shoulders fell. "Oh alright, I will keep watch for the night," he muttered, turning red.

"Good," Zidane smirked, sitting down next to Ari. Vivi was already asleep as they all drifted off, with Steiner keeping watch.

* * *

"Kupo!"

"Mmmph…Go away…" Ari grumbled, rolling over.

"That was amazing, Kupo!" The 'thing' called again.

That got Ari to sit up, and her blurry eyes scanned over a Moogle. A weird little creature with a body that looked like pink pompoms, complete with a pompom on a stick on top. (A/N: Just search for 'FFIX Moogle' on google images and you'll see)

"What was-?" She started.

"You're the first ones I seen to get out of the forest alive, kupo!" The Moogle announced.

"Well, then, you should look harder," Ari mumbled as Zidane stepped past her.

"I want you to have this, kupo! It's a Moogle flute, kupo! Just blow in it any time on the world map and one of us will come, kupo!" The Moogle explained excitedly, handing a stick with holes in it to Zidane, who stared at it then passed it back to Ari, saying, "you figure that out, Ari, I dunno how to work it."

Ari held the beautiful piece of work in her hand; she had only seen a scarce few flutes on the whole continent. Smiling slightly, she tucked it into her jacked along with the other special things she carried.

"Alright, let's go, everyone." Zidane announced, earning himself some stares. Shifting his tail around nervously, he continued, "I looked at that map Blank gave us, and there's a cavern to the south of us that should take us out of the mist."

"Alright," Garnet agreed, "let's go, then."

Ari stood up shakily, putting out a hand that landed on Garnet's shoulder to steady herself. "Err, sorry about that," Ari mumbled, pulling her hand away quickly. Garnet merely smiled and nodded, and then they were on their way.

Nobody actually noticed that Freak had been left behind, until he ran up behind them, screaming out, "Princess! Priiiincess!" Garnet turned around, sighed, and waited for him to catch up. Vivi resettled his hat as they waited, his big yellow eyes glancing around at them all, almost nervously.

Finally Freak caught up, and as soon as he did he doubled over, gasping. It was clear he didn't work out at all. Ari sighed, turning to keep walking, and so she did. Garnet put her hands on her hips, and man, if looks could kill…

'…_Well, at least we wouldn't have to deal with Freak anymore,'_ Ari thought to herself, and then noticed that nobody was following her away from Freak. Turning to yell, or glare, or something, Ari merely stared as the Freak got up slowly, his face all red from either exhaustion, embarrassment, anger, or maybe all three. In any case, they were soon all on their way again, Ari fiddling with her flute while Garnet looked over her shoulder, Freak glaring at Zidane, and Vivi just…well…being Vivi.

* * *

Tada! I hope you liked that, but if you don't, please don't hesitate to flame me! The lack of them has made me nervous… What if you're all lying? OO

Please review! Your reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Oh, don't forget to check out my profile, it's been updated, and let me know if you think I should do Inuyasha or not!


	5. The Ice Caves

(A/N) I AM SO SORRY!

Truly I am! I've taken sooo long and it really sucks for everyone who likes my story and…

Well, at any rate, here you go!

**The Ice Caves**

The Cavern was amazing. It was huge, it was glorious, it was…immense, it was…

"Sh-shiny…" Ari mumbled, her wide eyes going over the icy caves.

"Amazing," Garnet whispered, her voice hushed from the mere giganticness of the cave. She bent down and reached out to touch the flower in front of her, perfectly incased in two or three inches of solid ice.

"Princess! Please, do not touch anything!" Freak demanded nervously, drinking one of their potions.

"Hey! Don't touch that!" Ari cried, seeing him. "We don't have that many, you know!"

Freak glared at her, replying, "Well, you're a white mage, and so is the princess. I think we'll be just fine."

"Look out!" Zidane cried suddenly, for there were suddenly four little beasties upon them, two weird jelly things, and two goblins. Ari and Garnet stood back a bit while Freak and Zidane took out the goblins, then Vivi torched the blue jelly.

"Good job, Vivi!" Ari cheered, while Garnet tended to all the odd status ailments that they'd gotten during the short fight.

Moving on, they went up through the caves, running into several monsters, then Zidane noticed something strange.

"Hey, Vivi, can you blast through this wall with your fire?" He asked the young black mage, a gleam in his sharp eyes.

"O-okay…I'll try," Vivi agreed, and so he did. The wall disappeared as soon as his fire touched it, making Zidane smile with satisfaction.

"Yeah, I thought so," he said, walking into the small compartment that'd previously been sealed with ice, and opening the treasure chest.

"It's a leather wrist band," he smiled again, handing it to Vivi. "You earned it!" He cheered.

As they headed up through the cave once more, passing a few more monsters, getting stronger, blasting another couple walls, soon they reached a fork.

Eyeing the blizzard to their right, they quickly decided to go to the left, which lead them into a small cave with a very strange ice ornament…

"It's a Moogle!" Ari cried, "Vivi, let it out!"

Vivi nodded and melted the ice away, but it seemed he used too much fire, because in an instant the poor Moogle was jumping up and down, trying desperately to put himself out. "Kuuuuuupo! That's hot, kupo!" He screeched, jumping around like mad. Of course, it was out soon, the cave was so cold.

"Thank you for saving me, kupo!" The Moogle said, after he'd calmed down a bit, or rather, a lot. "I thought I'd be trapped in the ice forever, kupo!" He added, settling down on his perch.

Zidane nodded to the Moogle, then they all turned around, preparing themselves to head into the blizzard, which now appeared to be the way out.

Leaving the Moogle behind, they left the room and rounded the corner into the raging, very cold winds.

Strangely, after a moment, Ari began to feel tired…

Vivi went first. "Vivi! Are you okay?" Zidane called as the little mage tottered along behind them, his yellow eyes almost closed.

"Z-Zidane…I'm feeling…really….tired……" Vivi trailed off, stumbling off the path and over a small, maybe 5 foot, ledge, and there he lay.

"Master Vivi!" Freak cried, kneeling over the edge. But in a moment, his eyes began to droop, and next instant he was falling on top of Vivi. There was a loud crash as he landed.

"Vivi! Rusty!" Zidane called down at them, his eyes wide with wonderment, and maybe just a hint of fear. Garnet knelt at the edge of the small ledge as Zidane jumped down next to them, shaking and yelling.

After a moment, he gave up, saying, "It's no good, they're long gone."

Back up on the path, Garnet had fallen sideways, and Ari was kneeling next to her.

Ari felt her eyelids drooping, and in an instant she was gone, the world going black. The last thing she heard was Zidane, yelling at them and then cursing at himself as he fell into oblivion.

"_Hey, Ari! Keep up!" Zidane called to her, laughing._

"_I'm trying, Zidane, I'm trying! Slow down!" Arianna called, stumbling over the rough terrain. Zidane stopped and turned back to her, but Ari didn't notice, and merely stumbled along right into him._

"_Woah, Ari! Maybe you should take a break," Zidane suggested, gesturing to a log. Then he frowned._

"_No, not that one," He muttered to himself, "Not that one…"_

"_Why not that one?" Ari asked, feeling suddenly reckless._

"_Because-"_

"_I don't care why!" Ari laughed, running over to the log much faster than before, but as soon as she turned, she saw Zidane's look of blank despair._

"_Zidane…?" Ari whispered, her mood gone, now merely frightened._

"_Ari…ARI!" He yelled, suddenly frantic, starting to run to her._

_Ari turned, and one word filled her mind._

'_Death.'_

_It was everywhere. Printed on the log, printed on the rocks, printed on the very sky, and printed on the snow…_

_Snow?_

"Ugh…"

There were moans and groans everywhere, and Ari raised her weary head to see Zidane coming back from the end of the cave.

"Where were you, Zidane?" Ari demanded, though obviously only just beating Rusty to it.

"Hey, nothing happened," Came his only assurance.

"You- you haven't done anything to the Princess, have you!" Steiner demanded, looking fierce.

"Just WHAT are you implying!" Zidane demanded, glaring at him.

"Steiner, don't be rude!" Garnet declared, obviously offended, "He said nothing happened!"

"Y-yes, princess," Steiner muttered, turning red.

"Zidane…?" Came the trembling voice of Vivi.

"Yeah?"

"Um… can we go now?" He pleaded, rubbing his gloved hands together.

They all agreed to this, and continued through the cave. There were no more monsters, and it was a quiet walk up through the cave. They all breathed a sigh of relief as they came up…

"We're above the mist!" Garnet exclaimed, spreading her arms and letting the sun embrace her.

Really short, I know. But I suddenly felt a shoot of compassion growing within me, so I decided to grant you a chapter.

Oh, faithful reviewers! I am so sorry it took me so long:'(

And now, to update The Dream!


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